This disclosure relates to thermal management of implantable medical devices.
When the temperature of living cells and tissues is changed, the physiological structures, compositions, and processes of the cells and tissues can also change. For example, reaction kinetics, rates of mass transport, and the stability of cellular structures are all functions of temperature. Temperature changes are often harmful and cause departures from the preferred physiological states of cells and tissues. In extreme cases, thermal necrosis (i.e., cell death due to temperature) can result.